Sherman hopes to get A&M football on forward march

Sherman is on marchThe new coach in College Station says he is the right guy to rally the program

TERRANCE HARRIS, Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, August 28, 2008

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

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Mike Sherman says there is a new commitment to challenge Oklahoma and Texas for Big 12 South supremacy.

Mike Sherman says there is a new commitment to challenge Oklahoma and Texas for Big 12 South supremacy.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

Sherman hopes to get A&M football on forward march

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COLLEGE STATION — Sitting in his office at the Bright Building and with the McFerrin Indoor Facility and football practice fields serving as the backdrop, new Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman pounced when the subject turned to his being the right man at the right time to lead the Aggies.

Since arriving on campus to replace Dennis Franchione last November, Sherman has done nothing but embrace the Aggie culture and traditions, something that didn’t come easily for his predecessor. But Sherman provides a convincing argument that being an Aggie runs through his blood after two stints here under R.C. Slocum before heading off to the NFL.

“I came here as a young coach,” said Sherman, who was at A&M from 1989-93 and then returned from 1995-97.

“R.C. Slocum hired me, took a chance on me a long time ago. A lot of my philosophy on coaching, raising my kids, living my life was formulated here while I was at College Station, whether it was in a staff meeting with R.C. or meeting with Aggies going to the churches, going to the schools.

“So a lot of who I am as a man, forget coaching, was formulated here at A&M. I’ve never forgotten that. And now to come back full-circle at this point in my life is very unique in many ways but also very gratifying.”

Sherman came in and began to change the culture around the Bright Complex by embracing the student body, attending leadership meetings to encourage student support for the spring game and the regular season, holding a contest to appoint student coaches for the annual Maroon and White spring game and herding his team to Silver Taps.

His next charge is simply winning, and that clock officially begins to tick with Saturday’s season opener against Arkansas State at Kyle Field. Few believe winning will be an issue for the 53-year-old Sherman, who once presided over the legacy of Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers as the head coach/vice president and general manager, going 53-27 with three NFC North titles in five seasons.

Former A&M quarterback Gary Kubiak, who worked with Sherman on Slocum’s staff before years later hiring him as his assistant head coach/offensive coordinator with the Texans, certainly has no doubts the Aggies have the right man.

“First of all, he’s a great football coach, and he’s an even better person,” Kubiak said. “And Mike Sherman knows Texas A&M, he knows the former players, he knows the alumni, he knows the tradition e_SLps what the school stands for.”

Sherman says he had always been open to returning to College Station, the place where four of his five children were born, as he also braced for another NFL head- coaching opportunity in the NFL while working with the Texans.

“The deal with A&M, it was not college versus the NFL, it was A&M versus any other place. I wanted to go someplace I knew I could win,” Sherman said. “There are so many unknowns about so many places out there, but I knew A&M, what it was about, what the heartbeat is here. I know the recruiting base, I know the high school coaches, I know the structure here. I felt like without a doubt I could sell in a living room to an 18-year-old and his parents.”

And most important, he could win, which is something the Aggies haven’t done consistently for some time. Sherman says the commitment to challenge Texas and Oklahoma for supremacy in the Big 12 South is here again.

“I just felt like this presented a great opportunity for me to be successful,” said Sherman.

One person who has quickly become one of Sherman’s biggest fans around campus is athletic director Bill Byrne, who has admired all of the outreach Sherman has done with the fans and the players he inherited.